What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I decided to try doing stranded work on the LK150. I had somewhat mixed results. The first swatch showed me I'm still learning the technique. The tricky bit of trial and error is the keeping the trial going with all of the errors. 
I was pretty sure the tension was too tight so I changed that to prevent the dropped stitches. It got better but it still dropped some stitches. This try was much better. I'll have to keep working at it but I think this might not be the best yarn for this project. It is still ...

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I picked up some of this cute yarn at the local big box store to knit a few hats. First, I knit a swatch at what I figured were the right settings on the LK150. I like the resulting fabric so I did some  stich counting, measurements, math, and cast on. 
I used instructions I'd seen on the Machine Knitting Beginners and Returners Circle to make the crown of the hat in four sections.. I only dropped a single section when working. I had failed to load the yarn in the carriage. 
I sewed it up and it came ...

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What's the opposite of batting 1000? Lots of things happened yesterday - things that were related to my update list from yesterday, but NO progress was made on anything!!!

I had my call from Microsoft, and I think I mentioned that my Classic version of Outlook had frozen. Nope—it hadn't frozen. It's in the process of syncing all the folders, but it's taking a long time. Why? I suspect because the computer goes to sleep 5 minutes after I leave. So now I have set that to never, and hopefully, it will sync a bit faster ...

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I finally finished my scrappy star blanket!
It's the perfect size to throw on the couch for when you're a little chilled. It is just fabulous. 

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It was a wonderful day - AGAIN! I took tons of pictures, but not much to share with you. It was all for the two classes and the UFO club this weekend. The two presentations are totally prepped. I give the groups until 6 AM the day of the class to submit their pictures. I had an issue getting back to sleep at one point, so I was up in the middle of the night. Everything is DONE for today. Nothing new came in, so nothing new to add this morning! 

I will have to share the homework for Colour My ...

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It has been about a month since my last post about my scrappy 6-Day Crochet Star blanket. 

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I picked up some of these Red Heart yarns at a discount store. 
I grabbed this bright yellow to make up a hat on the LK150.
While this yarn is a worsted, the content makes it a really stiff yarn. I think I knitted it at too small a gauge. 
I mean, it looks fin here, but this is definitely sized for a baby. I'll give it another go with some adjusted settings. I want it to work. And if it doesn't work? Well, I can always crochet a hat. 

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 As usual, I'm down to the wire, but I made it!! 

Last year, I spotted an adorable project that I could make, so I started it. After a few sections were complete, the project was abandoned, like so many others. Recently, I decided to resurrect that project, and since I was making one, why not make two? OK - to be honest, I have one part of four done on one for myself! 

Then the goal was - let's get these things done in time for Christmas. But I struggled with travel and just time in general. With my SIL ...

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This is a slow project. Not that it is difficult, or anything. Only that I don't work on it very often. 
I may only add a row or two in a week. I love how the changing color each row makes for a fun change each row and the overall effect is fun. 

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I was excited to get up and continue knitting my cowl. However, as I was knitting, it just seemed wrong. I know that I hadn't planned to make it and was just using up some knitting worsted that my aunt had hanging around, and when I started, it seemed like such a good idea. But that niggling feeling wouldn't go away. And my aunt kept saying she thought the needles were the wrong size. 

So I went back to read the instructions only because we were going to the NEW yarn shop on Salt Spring Island, and I ...

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This is one of the best choose-your-own-adventure projects I've done. Just three more rounds but I don't work on it very often. I wonder if I could make a sweater like this... 

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I've decided to not just go scrappy with my next 6-Day Crochet Star blanket. 
I've sorted my colors into 20 colors and when it is time to start a new row I grab my hand 20-sided die and roll for the next color. I selected the first couple (the yellow and grays) colors but I'm all about the random colors now. 

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 OH MY GOSH --- I feel like I'm sleeping in my nephew's basement. WAIT --- I am sleeping in a basement -it's not my nephew's. My host is a single, youngish man (used to be a bank manager, now drives a school bus, from India), and well, it's rather a very bizarre situation, but I feel perfectly safe, and you just learn to roll with the punches. 

It's all a good lesson to book a hotel in advance, because you never know when a rodeo is coming to town! 

And the house is in a decent ...

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OK -- I'm up for trying new things. And there was something that I have wanted to do for a long time, and last night, I decided it was a perfect job for AI. However, I'm sad to report that the job it did was dismal. A total failure, and it was an easy job. 

What's the job? I have written MANY posts for QUILTsocial.com over the last 11 years. By my count, there are close to 400 posts. Yep -- that's a lot of posts. I use many of them in my teachings, and I sometimes ...

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I think I made it to the final wedge. I know it doesn't look like much all scrunched up like this but I'm not changing my needle. 

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Progress is slower. Still fun. 

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I am totally obsessed with sardines!! They are trending big time. I have a fish keychain from Ruby Star Society, the best goofy doormat featuring a full tin of them (which my husband loves), and my favorite t-shirt is from H&M. I even found a candle at Anthropologie… and I want so much more. That obsession led me to start making some fish templates for us! I’ve already made some fish-themed charity quilt blocks and have big plans for more projects—so stay tuned. To officially kick off my sardine obsession here on the blog, I wanted to ...

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A couple more wedges completed.
I shifted to working from both balls or yarn so could keep the color changes from narrowing. I really like how it is working up. This is the part where it starts to take a long time to knit each wedge. 

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A friend gave me this fun yarn from Knit Picks a few years ago. I was going away for a weekend and wanted a hand project to take along.
I used my winder to make some fresh cakes and picked a color order. 
The pattern I decided to use is Dotted Rays by Stephen West. I find this shawl to be perfect for those times when my hands need something to do but I don't want to really think about it.
I did the first couple wedges in this orange. 
Then, switched to the rainbow yarn at the orange ...

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I feel a bit like a stranger who has been gone too long. I know I have been busy, but hadn’t realised I had missed a whole month. Plenty of medical issues have kept me busy and none of them were mine. Lots of time has been spent in waiting rooms and next to hospital beds, and being a taxi driver. As a result, sewing has slowed, but knitting and embroidery have kept me company. So now it is time to catch up.

Meet my little cheer squad.

I had run out of my gift supply of knitted monkeys ...

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